This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Gas fired heating units such as gas water heater appliances typically comprise a gas valve for supplying gas to a main burner and a standing pilot burner within a burner chamber. Since water heaters now have sealed burner chambers, manual lighting of the standing pilot burner with a match is not possible. Accordingly, the gas valve has a manually-opened pilot valve that must be depressed and held open while an ignition device is activated to establish a pilot flame at the standing pilot burner. Once the pilot valve is manually opened and a pilot flame is established at the standing pilot burner, the pilot burner burns gas continuously to thereby provide an ignition source for the main burner. These gas valves and standing pilot burners operate independently of any connection to electrical power within the residential or commercial building. However, it is difficult for users to operate the pilot valve and ignition device and monitor the pilot burner flame.